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This Generation, Too, Has Heroes To Look Upto

Our generation has been the target for such slander from the older generations. And boy, do those old fuckers know how to hit where it hurts. If this sounds familiar to you, then I must insist that you read on. If not, read on all the same.

It is often said that we (our generation) are weak-willed individuals who have little or no respect for the older generation and that we revel in our independence. We cannot be controlled and we are wild fools who will burn ourselves to the ground before long.

If an artist with these opinions was asked to draw a representation of our generation, the end result would probably be a chubby baby wearing a snapback and air jordans with tattoos all over, a joint in one hand and a cellphone in the other (honestly, I kind of like the joint part). But what I wonder is if that’s still the first thing that comes into their minds when they think of Malala and how she stood up against terrorists for the right to attend school. That selfish, ignorant bitch! And how about all the various human rights activists who put their own lives at a hold to help thousands of people who have been wronged. Young men and women go out on the street everyday and try to help the very people upon whom the authorities have turned a blind eye. Till recent years, the LGBT community was considered a taboo and countless atrocities were committed against them openly. Now, we have hundreds of NGOs working across the globe to assist those who have been a victim of discrimination in the past; whether it’s on the basis of sexual orientation, race or religion.

And they say that there is no hope for our generation; that we are a bunch of spoilt brats.

What bothers me the most is that most of our generation has not even lived for half our lives and we’re supposed to be these wise, know-it-all, perfect humans. They talk about us lacking moral values and important life skills when hundreds from our generation have lost their fathers – the very fathers who would’ve taught them these things – in the wars started by old men.

Then, they expect us to learn from the “old, wise men”. Maybe we should learn from people like George Bush and Donald Trump. One, a former president and the other, a presidential candidate this year. Well, that is not the only thing they have in common. They are both gigantic douche-headed a-holes. If you have been following the presidential race, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

And they say that we don’t believe in anything but ourselves; that we are destroying our lives (and everyone else’s) by abusing drugs.

A different set of opinions and ideas does not mean we are the spawn of Satan and that the apocalypse is near. No! It just means that the times are changing and so are our mindsets. What’s surprising is that a generation that lived through the 60s cannot understand this- a generation that grew up listening to Dylan and protesting wars, a generation that demanded change.

This is not me romanticising our generation or trying to say that we are flawless individuals. Yes, there are numerous threats that this generation faces but we are not the ones to lay down. We might do things our own way and this might seem a bit out of sorts, but that’s evolution.

We have our flaws just like all the generations before us, for we are, after all, humans. Now if they still cannot understand this and think that we are the end of modern human civilisation, I have a quote for them by Dr. Debasish Mridha that goes like this, “If the future generation has a difficult life, if they engage in war or commit crime, it’s not their fault, it’s our fault because we failed to educate them.”

Of course, there have been exceptional individuals in the older generations, no doubt. But to those who continue to slander our generation, in the wise words of Pink Floyd, “All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall.”